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Engines and thrusters

Space Jobs for Propulsion Engineers

, SpaceJobs.Now lists 530 open roles for propulsion engineers on , including Anduril, Cowboy Space and Amazon Leo; typical pay across them is $125k to $235k a year (median $145k), topped by $328k a year advertised at Stoke Space.

See 530 roles for propulsion engineers
$125k–$235k/yrtypical paylive median $145k/yrup to $328k/yr at Stoke Space

Measured from 351 distinct posted rates, across 39 employers, each as a year's pay (an hourly rate × 2,080 hours). 178 of the 530 listings open here post no pay at all.

Launch companies and spacecraft makers hire propulsion engineers to design, build and test rocket engines, thrusters and the fluid systems that feed them. Each listing here is re-verified on the employer's own job board once an hour.

Live roles for propulsion engineers

Updated 31 Oct 2026, 13:02 UTC

Propulsion and engine test

71 open

Run engines and components on the test stand: plan the test, operate the stand, read the data and find what the hardware is telling you.

Show 61 more propulsion test roles

Engines, turbomachinery and combustion

390 open

Design and develop liquid rocket engines and their parts: turbopumps, combustion devices, injectors and nozzles, from analysis to hardware.

Show 380 more engine development roles

In-space and electric propulsion

44 open

Thrusters and propulsion systems for satellites and spacecraft, chemical and electric, that keep a vehicle on orbit and move it between orbits.

Show 34 more in-space propulsion roles

Fluid and feed systems

11 open

Valves, regulators, tanks, lines and pressurization: the cryogenic and high-pressure systems that feed an engine its propellants.

Show 1 more fluid systems roles

Propulsion engineers

14 open

Propulsion roles across the vehicle, from system design to production support.

Show 4 more propulsion roles

Before you apply

Space hardware is built, tested and flown in person, so many roles name a factory, a test site, a launch site or a control room, and each listing states its location. US roles that touch export-controlled technology (ITAR or EAR) can ask that you be a U.S. person, and some ask for a security clearance. A real employer never charges you to apply, never interviews you only by chat app and never asks you to buy equipment.

Pay by specialty

Every specialty gets its typical band from its own open roles, computed by the same method as the rest of the site (the 25th percentile of what roles pay (the middle of each posted range, as a year's pay: an hourly rate counts at 2,080 hours, 40 a week for 52 weeks) to the 90th-percentile posted top). A specialty is listed once three or more distinct rates have been posted.

SpecialtyOpen rolesTypical payHighest rate
Propulsion and engine test71$120k–$220k/yr$250k/yr
Engines, turbomachinery and combustion390$125k–$245k/yr$328k/yr
In-space and electric propulsion44$145k–$235k/yr$270k/yr
Fluid and feed systems11$127k–$203k/yr$237k/yr
Propulsion engineers14$58.2k–$189k/yr$200k/yr

What the roles ask for

Drawn from the requirement lines of 351 out of 530 open roles for propulsion engineers, the same lines each role's pop-up quotes from its posting. Each role is counted once, at the lowest degree it will accept.

2

Ask for a PhD

16

Ask for a master's

315

Ask for at least a bachelor's

18

Name no degree

  • Name years of experience294
  • Name u.S. person status (ITAR or EAR)56
  • Name a security clearance43
  • Set a residency or work-authorization condition31
  • Ask for a professional license12
  • Require programming (Python, C++, MATLAB and similar)7

Where a posting states years of experience, the median ask is 5 years.

Who hires propulsion engineers in the space industry

EmployerOpen rolesPay stated
Anduril logoAnduril1$167k–$222k/yr
Cowboy Space logoCowboy Space9$100k–$220k/yr
Amazon Leo logoAmazon Leo7$82.1k–$215k/yr
Portal Space Systems logoPortal Space Systems2$100k–$215k/yr
True Anomaly logoTrue Anomaly13$85k–$290k/yr
Turion Space logoTurion Space1$150k–$200k/yr
Stoke Space logoStoke Space4$129k–$328k/yr
Inversion Space logoInversion Space3$106k–$193k/yr
BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems logoBAE Systems Space & Mission Systems1$118k–$201k/yr
K2 Space logoK2 Space9$72.8k–$200k/yr
General Galactic logoGeneral Galactic5$85k–$240k/yr
Apex logoApex12$115k–$226k/yr
Varda Space Industries logoVarda Space Industries13$109k–$263k/yr
Astra logoAstra4$140k–$220k/yr
Blue Origin logoBlue Origin96$66.6k–$256k/yr
Impulse Space logoImpulse Space23$62.4k–$220k/yr
Quantum Space logoQuantum Space1$110k–$160k/yr
Gravitics logoGravitics1$135k–$160k/yr
Millennium Space Systems logoMillennium Space Systems1$91k–$164k/yr
CesiumAstro logoCesiumAstro5$108k–$181k/yr
Voyager Technologies logoVoyager Technologies9$80k–$240k/yr
GITAI logoGITAI1$150k–$200k/yr
Boeing logoBoeing1$112k–$185k/yr
Sierra Space logoSierra Space3$70.2k–$209k/yr
Relativity Space logoRelativity Space42$90k–$277k/yr
Vast logoVast14$86k–$265k/yr
Firefly Aerospace logoFirefly Aerospace16Not stated
The Exploration Company logoThe Exploration Company17Not stated
Isar Aerospace logoIsar Aerospace11Not stated
ArianeGroup logoArianeGroup9Not stated
The Aerospace Corporation logoThe Aerospace Corporation7Not stated
Rocket Factory Augsburg logoRocket Factory Augsburg6Not stated
Venus Aerospace logoVenus Aerospace5Not stated
MaiaSpace logoMaiaSpace4Not stated
Axiom Space logoAxiom Space3Not stated
NewOrbit Space logoNewOrbit Space2Not stated
OHB logoOHB2Not stated
Thales Alenia Space logoThales Alenia Space2Not stated
ClearSpace logoClearSpace1Not stated
Elveo Mobile logoElveo Mobile1Not stated
HyImpulse logoHyImpulse1Not stated
HyPrSpace logoHyPrSpace1Not stated
Synspective logoSynspective1Not stated
Intuitive Machines logoIntuitive Machines5Not stated
SpaceX logoSpaceX60$100k–$215k/yr
ispace logoispace4Not stated
AST SpaceMobile logoAST SpaceMobile1Not stated
Lockheed Martin logoLockheed Martin8$79.3k–$300k/yr
Blue Canyon Technologies logoBlue Canyon Technologies1Not stated
Leidos logoLeidos1$108k–$195k/yr
United Launch Alliance logoUnited Launch Alliance4$77.5k–$173k/yr
Northrop Grumman logoNorthrop Grumman7$79.3k–$266k/yr
Virgin Galactic logoVirgin Galactic5$88.3k–$218k/yr
Rocket Lab logoRocket Lab32$58.2k–$270k/yr
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) logoNASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)2$119k–$143k/yr
Amentum logoAmentum6$64.6k–$98.5k/yr
Ursa Major logoUrsa Major17$80k–$190k/yr
Moog logoMoog1$175k–$230k/yr
Astranis logoAstranis4$60.3k–$185k/yr
Benchmark Space Systems logoBenchmark Space Systems2$49.9k–$175k/yr

Sorted by the expected value of an application (acceptance odds times posted pay). A referral agreement, if an employer has one, can raise it in this order but never changes the salary it offers.

Propulsion Engineer salary by employer

What each employer's own postings pay propulsion engineers, by level and by site, with every role and its posted pay.

How each employer checks you

For every employer currently hiring propulsion engineers: its process as its own hiring guide describes it, each line with its source. The complete steps sit on that employer's page. Sorted by the expected value of an application (acceptance odds times posted pay). A referral agreement, if an employer has one, can raise it in this order but never changes the salary it offers.

Amazon Leo logoAmazon Leo7 open
Assessment
Amazon's interview loop. How to apply
Interview
Interview
Blue Origin logoBlue Origin96 open
Assessment
No general test published. How to apply
Interview
None published
Thales Alenia Space logoThales Alenia Space2 open
Assessment
Thales interviews. How to apply
Interview
Interview
Lockheed Martin logoLockheed Martin8 open
Assessment
Lockheed Martin's interviews. How to apply
Interview
Interview
Northrop Grumman logoNorthrop Grumman7 open
Assessment
The recruiter screening and team interviews. How to apply
Interview
Interview
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) logoNASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)2 open
Assessment
No general test published. How to apply
Interview
None published

Where these roles are posted

The US states with the most open roles for propulsion engineers, and the roles posted for a single country. A place name leads to its own page, and a country's count lists the matching roles.

Students and recent graduates: 21 open space internships for propulsion engineers.

In the US, by state

Space industry jobs by US state

In the US, by metro area

Space industry jobs by metro area

The public record, in every industry: 68,700 aerospace engineers work in the US (2025), projected to grow 8% by 2035, at a median $135k/yr (BLS, May 2025). Open space roles for propulsion engineers post a median $145k/yr, 7.4% above it (pay research). Each state's page gives its own.

What our research measures about propulsion work

Read from the open postings on 2026-10-30 by our space industry research, rebuilt every day. Every figure opens the row of the report it comes from.

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Frequently asked questions

How much do propulsion engineers earn in the space industry?

Going by the 351 distinct salaries currently posted for roles for propulsion engineers (each put on a full-time year), the typical range is $125k–$235k/yr and the median is $145k/yr. The top posted figure is $328k/yr, at Stoke Space. 178 of the 530 open roles for propulsion engineers state no pay, so check each listing.

What do propulsion roles ask for?

Usually an engineering degree (mechanical and aerospace are the most common) and hands-on hardware experience in the role's area, from test operations to fluid systems. A license is rarely asked. Each listing states the degree, the years of experience and the location it asks for. Of the 351 open roles for propulsion engineers whose requirements we read, 2 ask for a PhD, 16 a master's, 315 at least a bachelor's and 18 name no degree.

What does a propulsion engineer do at a space company?

A propulsion engineer designs, analyzes and tests the systems that make thrust: engines and their turbomachinery, combustion devices, thrusters, and the valves, lines and tanks that carry propellants. Much of the work is on hardware: building test articles, firing them on a stand and changing the design from what the data shows.

How do space companies hire propulsion engineers?

Each employer runs its own hiring, and each listing says what it asks for: the degree or the hands-on experience, the location, and for export-controlled work in the US, often U.S. person status. Of the employers hiring propulsion engineers now, none publishes a recorded interview or an ID check in the guides we hold. The section on how each employer checks you quotes each guide with its source.

Are these jobs real?

Every role here is read from a space employer's own careers page or job board (Anduril, Cowboy Space, Amazon Leo and Portal Space Systems among them), and each employer's page here covers who they are and how they hire. A real employer never charges you to apply, never asks you to buy equipment and never interviews you only by chat app.

Which space companies pay propulsion engineers the most?

Of the 10 employers whose postings for propulsion engineers state enough pay for a figure, the highest medians are True Anomaly ($195k/yr), Apex ($177k/yr) and Varda Space Industries ($160k/yr). A median is of what each employer's open roles post today, by the same formula for every employer.

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Propulsion & Engines

Every open propulsion role across space employers, with live pay.